Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick recently recalled how he angered Gene Simmons by comparing their gear to Bon Jovi’s, sharing the story during an appearance on Story Expo.
Kulick explained that shortly after joining KISS in late 1984, he became frustrated with his failing wireless equipment while on tour and decided to bring it up to Simmons.
“I know one time I got emotional with Gene about some equipment that was failing while I’m on tour,” Kulick said. “And I compared it to the fact that a younger band – that is now one of the biggest bands, Bon Jovi – was opening for us, and they had new gear. Well, it might have been because they just got their record deal and they spent it on all that, where I’m inheriting stuff from the warehouse, ’cause the band started in ’73. Now it’s ’84, and my wireless kept failing.”
He went on to describe Simmons’ reaction to the comparison and how it taught him a valuable lesson about handling professional grievances.
“And it was so funny, I just started to bring it up to Gene,” Kulick continued. “And again, I didn’t know them that well. And it’s a great story, because I probably did…he started to act like I was being Jerry Lewis with Dean Martin. And he really shut me down. And it was a big lesson I learned and I appreciated it: if you’ve got a gripe like that, don’t be emotional about it. Don’t be tying it to, ‘And what about the opening act? They have it?’ I thought that was a good argument – but not for Gene Simmons.”
Kulick realized that he should have approached the situation differently instead of comparing KISS to their opening act.
“I thought I was painting a fair picture, ‘Why should they have it?'” Kulick added. “It would have been easier to say, ‘Gene, we’re Kiss. My thing is failing, and please don’t leave me out there where the roadie doesn’t know, ‘Do I need to plug it in’?’ That was a great lesson ’cause I saw how pissed he was. And again that was a fail, but it was a win because now I knew going forward…and then with any other band if I wanted to present something, I certainly was trying to be diplomatic.”
This experience helped shape Kulick’s approach to communication throughout his career.
The remark landed in the middle of a period when KISS was redefining itself. Kulick was asked to join KISS in 1984 and became the band’s lead guitarist for the next 12 years. He had already been performing with the group by the start of the 1984 tour supporting Animalize, which marked the beginning of his long run with the band.
KISS had gone through major lineup changes by then, with Ace Frehley and Vinnie Vincent both gone before Mark St. John was brought in, only to be replaced later by Kulick. The Animalize world tour was KISS’s 1984 road cycle for the album Animalize, and Kulick played guitar on most of those dates after St. John’s health issues limited his role.
That context helps explain why the Bon Jovi comparison hit a nerve. Bon Jovi released their debut album, Bon Jovi, in January 1984 and were still early in their rise when they opened for KISS on parts of the Animalize tour. The pairing put a fast-rising New Jersey band in front of an older hard-rock act still adjusting to life after the makeup era.
Bon Jovi’s appearance on the tour also gave the exchange added bite. Bon Jovi served as an opening act on select 1984 Animalize dates, placing them directly in KISS’s orbit just as Kulick was settling into the band.
